Angelique Kerber survived a tight battle with Ksenia Pervak to move into the second round at the US Open, beating the Russian 6-2 3-6 7-5.
The sixth seed made a strong start to the match, breaking her opponent early on to help her wrap up the opening set in just 30 minutes.
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The German continued to put Pervak under pressure in the second set, bringing up a number of break points, but she was unable to convert any of her chances.
Meanwhile, a mistake midway through the set from Kerber gave the Russian the opportunity to edge ahead, breaking her opponent before holding serve to level the match.
The decider remained close, with both players losing a service game early on, but Kerber dug deep to set herself up to serve the match out after more than two hours on court.
Kerber will play either Duan Ying-Ying or Alla Kudryavtseva in the next round.
Sian Cowper
